Scipher Medicine Secures Series B Funding to Advance Precision Medicine Platform for Personalized Autoimmune Disease Treatment

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that on December 19, 2019, Scipher Medicine, a U.S.-based developer of molecular technology platforms, announced the completion of its Series B financing round led by Northpond Ventures. Other investors participating in this round included Alumni Ventures Group, Tachyon Ventures, Khosla Ventures, and Granpool Innovative Investments. The specific amount raised was not disclosed.

It is reported that Scipher Medicine previously completed its seed round and Series A financing in April 2016 and September 2018, respectively. To date, Scipher Medicine has raised a total of over $30 million in funding.

Scipher Medicine, founded in 2014 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, is a precision medicine technology company. Scipher Medicine brings precision medicine to complex diseases through the power of network medicine. The company has developed blood and tissue testing platforms to predict whether drug responses are appropriate, assisting physicians in prescribing medications for patients.

This round of financing will fund the development and commercialization of Scipher Medicine’s first drug response testing platform, PrismRA™. PrismRA™ is a molecular diagnostic testing platform that predicts how arthritis patients will respond to anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapies. Currently, more than 65% of patients do not exhibit a significant clinical response to these drugs. The role of PrismRA™ is to determine whether a patient will have an inflammatory response to the medication before treatment begins, thereby enabling physicians to prescribe the optimal medication tailored to the patient’s physiology based on PrismRA™’s predictions, ultimately improving therapeutic outcomes.

Michael Rubin, Founder and CEO of Northpond Ventures, stated, “Scipher Medicine’s molecular technology platform holds the potential to apply precision medicine to autoimmune diseases. We have already witnessed how precision medicine has significantly improved outcomes in oncology treatment. Northpond is delighted to partner with Scipher Medicine to enhance patient outcomes by introducing targeted, personalized therapies for complex diseases, starting with autoimmune disorders.”

Alif Saleh, CEO of Scipher Medicine, stated, “Ensuring that prescribed medications are both appropriate and effective for patients diagnosed with autoimmune diseases remains a significant challenge in healthcare today. Unfortunately, most patients currently find an effective treatment only after trying different drugs for years, by which time their disease has often progressed irreversibly. Our technology enables physicians to develop optimal treatment plans for patients more rapidly, thereby minimizing unnecessary side effects and improving therapeutic outcomes.”

Northpond Ventures, founded in 2018, is a science-driven venture capital firm. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, the firm focuses its investments on life sciences, medical technology, and healthcare-related industries.

Tachyon Ventures is a venture capital firm headquartered in Los Angeles, United States. The company focuses on investing in cutting-edge early-stage life sciences companies in the fields of medicine, biotechnology, and bioengineering.

Khosla Ventures, founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, United States, is a venture capital firm. The company’s investment activities primarily cover the Internet, computing, silicon technology, and environmental technologies.

(Compiled by Wang Fang)